Great Tips from Prof Eldemire Shearer and Dr Vendryes

Tips on Healthy Ageing - Prof. Denise Eldemire-Shearer’s
Presentation at CCRP Wellness Seminar, April 20, 2010

Ageing

• Ageing is a complex process that does not occur overnight, it has several components – Physical, social, psychological and spiritual

• Healthy Ageing describes the ongoing activities and behaviours you undertake to reduce the risk of illness and disease and increase your physical, emotional and mental health.

• It also means combating illness and disease with some basic lifestyle realignment that can result in a faster and more enduring recovery.

• Goals of healthy ageing - Maintaining mental and physical health, avoiding disorders or diseases, remaining active and independent

• What to expect in Old Age - the body experiences changes physically. Changes are dependent on many factors such as lifestyle, disease and environmental factors.

• Some of these changes can be worked on to alter the ageing process.

• People also age differently so what is true for one may not be for another.

• Habits that influence healthy ageing

 Following a nutritious diet
 Exercising regularly
 Staying mentally active

• How to prepare for ageing

 Gather information
 Get clarification on different opinions expressed
 Have a plan for the future
 Set goals and reassess and change as necessary




Tips from Dr. Anthony Vendryes’ - Presentation on The 4 Pillars of Healthy Ageing At CCRP Wellness Seminar April 20, 2010


• Your health is #1. Health is not just an absence of disease, it is a state of physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

• Real health is wellness, the three major killers are heart disease, cancer and stroke – these are all lifestyle related disorders.

• The four Pillars of Healthy Ageing are, Nutrition, Cleansing, Exercise and Stress & Rest Management.

• 1St Pillar – Good Nutrition is the basis of good health, you are what you eat. Good nutrition slows ageing, all major killers are nutritionally related disorders.

• 2nd Pillar – Exercising, “use it or lose it!” it compliments nutrition, has lots of physical and emotional benefits and also slows down the ageing process.

• 3rd Pillar – Cleansing, try to avoid substances that poison the body such as cigarette smoke, alcohol, drugs (legal or otherwise), chemicals and pollutants.

• 4th Pillar – De-stress - Stress is not a person or a situation, it is a reaction or a response, it is known as the enemy within it also accelerates ageing.

• In order to manage stress you need to know how you react to stress factors and learn the relaxation response.

CCRP Wellness Seminar

A section of the large audience at the Seminar - at table are CCRP members Beverley Anderson Manley and her cousin Jeanette Hutchinson


Brilliant presenters Prof Denise Eldemire Shearer and Dr Anthony Vendryes greet each other at the Seminar where members commented that their addresses were 'life-changing'.

Caribbean Community of Retired Persons Launched

PROComm Administrattive Director Hubert Chin presents his company's major sponsorship to CCRP Board Member Lester Spaulding.  Looking on is Honorary Director Prof Sir Kenneth Hall

New group to push for welfare of retirees

Jamaica Observer | Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Caribbean Community of Retired Persons (CCRP) was launched in Kingston Tuesday, with promises to push for the welfare of retirees in the region.

Jean Lowrie-Chin -- founder and chief executive officer of the organisation -- said the association will, among its work, be lobbying on behalf of its members for environmental safety, building guidelines, legislation on pension and taxation, as well as concessionary rates for credit cards and utility bills.

"They (the members) also want us to ensure that they are included in the job market, because a lot of retired persons say we are still healthy and have so much to contribute, so will you help us to maximise our professional potential," she said.

Addressing participants at the launch held at the Knutsford Court Hotel, Lowrie-Chin said further that the association also intends to establish a skills bank of retired persons.

"On Sunday, I registered a retired bank manager who said, 'I took my rest and I am ready to work again, so please put me down as a member of your skills bank'," Lowrie-Chin said.

She said the association will also be partnering with the Ministry of Health to ensure there are strict guidelines for the running of homes for the elderly, while the Guardsman Group will be assisting with some of the technology to help to monitor some of the services.

In addition, the organisation said it would be working to ensure that retired persons are given a chance to contribute to national and regional development, and serve as a unified voice for its members.

The association has already attracted some 75 members and a growing list of corporate sponsors, with the aim to have 1,000 members in the first year and 5,000 within three years.

According to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, there are presently over 450,000 persons in the 50-plus age group in the island with indications that the fastest-growing cohort of the population is 65 years and older.

Former Governor General of Jamaica and honorary board member of CCRP, Sir Kenneth Hall, told the launch that the statistical growth of the retired population has not been matched by the growth of institutions and the provision of services to cater to their particular needs.

"It is widely acknowledged that retired persons are healthier, more educated, professionally experienced and capable of contributing to the social and cultural capital of the country," he said.

To realise their full potential, Sir Kenneth said appropriate organisations must be available to acknowledge this vital resource and mobilise it to contribute to Jamaica's development.



COMMENTS (2)

Paul Lewis
4/15/2010
This is a sector of the population whose skill and experience are sorely needed. The Gov't should offer them roles as consultants to the various Ministers, since they have no clue what they are doing right now. I am sure they would appreciate the additional income, now that their pensions are being stretched to the limit.
george watson
4/15/2010
If this group can do no more than get concessionary rates on utility bills for the elderly then it will have done a great job.
If this government does not do more for the elderly then it will have found at election day that it has overlooked a large voting bloc.

Glutathione: The Mother of All Antioxidants

Mark Hyman, MD

FROM HUFFINGTON POST (click title above to link)

It's the most important molecule you need to stay healthy and prevent disease -- yet you've probably never heard of it. It's the secret to prevent aging, cancer, heart disease, dementia and more, and necessary to treat everything from autism to Alzheimer's disease. There are more than 89,000 medical articles about it -- but your doctor doesn't know how address the epidemic deficiency of this critical life-giving molecule ...

What is it? I'm talking about the mother of all antioxidants, the master detoxifier and maestro of the immune system: GLUTATHIONE (pronounced "gloota-thigh-own").

The good news is that your body produces its own glutathione. The bad news is that poor diet, pollution, toxins, medications, stress, trauma, aging, infections and radiation all deplete your glutathione.

This leaves you susceptible to unrestrained cell disintegration from oxidative stress, free radicals, infections and cancer. And your liver gets overloaded and damaged, making it unable to do its job of detoxification.

In treating chronically ill patients with Functional Medicine for more than 10 years, I have discovered that glutathione deficiency is found in nearly all very ill patients. These include people with chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disease, cancer, chronic infections, autoimmune disease, diabetes, autism, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, arthritis, asthma, kidney problems, liver disease and more.

At first I thought that this was just a coincidental finding, but over the years I have come to realize that our ability to produce and maintain a high level of glutathione is critical to recovery from nearly all chronic illness -- and to preventing disease and maintaining optimal health and performance. The authors of those 76,000 medical articles on glutathione I mentioned earlier have found the same thing!

So in today's blog I want to explain what glutathione is, why it's important and give you 9 tips that will help you optimize your glutathione levels, improve your detoxification system and protect help yourself from chronic illness.

What is Glutathione?

Glutathione is a very simple molecule that is produced naturally all the time in your body. It is a combination of three simple building blocks of protein or amino acids -- cysteine, glycine and glutamine.

The secret of its power is the sulfur (SH) chemical groups it contains. Sulfur is a sticky, smelly molecule. It acts like fly paper and all the bad things in the body stick onto it, including free radicals and toxins like mercury and other heavy metals.

Normally glutathione is recycled in the body -- except when the toxic load becomes too great. And that explains why we are in such trouble ...

In my practice, I test the genes involved in glutathione metabolism. These are the genes involved in producing enzymes that allow the body to create and recycle glutathione in the body. These genes have many names, such as GSTM1, GSTP1 and more.

These genes impaired in some people for a variety of important reasons. We humans evolved in a time before the 80,000 toxic industrial chemicals found in our environment today were introduced into our world, before electromagnetic radiation was everywhere and before we polluted our skies, lakes, rivers, oceans and teeth with mercury and lead.

That is why most people survived with the basic version of the genetic detoxification software encoded in our DNA, which is mediocre at ridding the body of toxins. At the time humans evolved we just didn't need more. Who knew we would be poisoning ourselves and eating a processed, nutrient-depleted diet thousands of years later?

Because most of us didn't require additional detoxification software, almost of half of the population now has a limited capacity to get rid of toxins. These people are missing GSTM1 function -- one of the most important genes needed in the process of creating and recycling glutathione in the body.

Nearly all my very sick patients are missing this function. The one-third of our population that suffers from chronic disease is missing this essential gene. That includes me. Twenty years ago I became mercury poisoned and suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome due to this very problem. My GSTM1 function was inadequate and I didn't produce enough glutathione as a result. Eventually, my body broke down and I became extremely ill ...

This is the same problem I see in so many of my patients. They are missing this critical gene and they descend into disease as a result. Let me explain how this happens ...

The Importance of Glutathione in Protecting Against Chronic Illness

Glutathione is critical for one simple reason: It recycles antioxidants. You see, dealing with free radicals is like handing off a hot potato. They get passed around from vitamin C to vitamin E to lipoic acid and then finally to glutathione which cools off the free radicals and recycles other antioxidants. After this happens, the body can "reduce" or regenerate another protective glutathione molecule and we are back in business.

However, problems occur when we are overwhelmed with too much oxidative stress or too many toxins. Then the glutathione becomes depleted and we can no longer protect ourselves against free radicals, infections, or cancer and we can't get rid of toxins. This leads to further sickness and soon we are in the downward spiral of chronic illness.

But that's not all. Glutathione is also critical in helping your immune system do its job of fighting infections and preventing cancer. That's why studies show that it can help in the treatment of AIDS.(i)

Glutathione is also the most critical and integral part of your detoxification system. All the toxins stick onto glutathione, which then carries them into the bile and the stool -- and out of your body.

And lastly, it also helps us reach peak mental and physical function. Research has shown that raised glutathione levels decrease muscle damage, reduce recovery time, increase strength and endurance and shift metabolism from fat production to muscle development.

If you are sick or old or are just not in peak shape, you likely have glutathione deficiency.
In fact, the top British medical journal, the Lancet, found the highest glutathione levels in healthy young people, lower levels in healthy elderly, lower still in sick elderly and the lowest of all in the hospitalized elderly. (ii)

Keeping yourself healthy, boosting your performance, preventing disease and aging well depends on keeping your glutathione levels high. I'll say it again ... Glutathione is so important because it is responsible for keeping so many of the keys to UltraWellness optimized.

It is critical for immune function and controlling inflammation. It is the master detoxifier and the body's main antioxidant, protecting our cells and making our energy metabolism run well.

And the good news is that you can do many things to increase this natural and critical molecule in your body. You can eat glutathione-boosting foods. You can exercise. And you can take glutathione-boosting supplements. Let's review more specifics about each.

9 Tips to Optimize your Glutathione Levels

These 9 tips will help you improve your glutathione levels, improve your health, optimize your performance and live a long, healthy life.

Eat Foods that Support Glutathione Production

1. Consume sulfur-rich foods. The main ones in the diet are garlic, onions and the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, collards, cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, etc.).

2. Try bioactive whey protein. This is great source of cysteine and the amino acid building blocks for glutathione synthesis. As you know, I am not a big fan of dairy. But this is an exception -- with a few warnings. The whey protein MUST be bioactive and made from non-denatured proteins ("denaturing" refers to the breakdown of the normal protein structure). Choose non-pasteurized and non-industrially produced milk that contains no pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics. Immunocal is a prescription bioactive non-denatured whey protein that is even listed in the Physician's Desk Reference.

Exercise for Your Way to More Glutathione

3. Exercise boosts your glutathione levels and thereby helps boost your immune system, improve detoxification and enhance your body's own antioxidant defenses. Start slow and build up to 30 minutes a day of vigorous aerobic exercise like walking or jogging, or play various sports. Strength training for 20 minutes 3 times a week is also helpful.

Take Glutathione Supporting Supplements

One would think it would be easy just to take glutathione as a pill, but the body digests protein -- so you wouldn't get the benefits if you did it this way. However, the production and recycling of glutathione in the body requires many different nutrients and you CAN take these. Here are the main supplements that need to be taken consistently to boost glutathione. Besides taking a multivitamin and fish oil, supporting my glutathione levels with these supplements is the most important thing I do every day for my personal health.

4. N-acetyl-cysteine. This has been used for years to help treat asthma and lung disease and to treat people with life-threatening liver failure from Tylenol overdose. In fact, I first learned about it in medical school while working in the emergency room. It is even given to prevent kidney damage from dyes used during x-ray studies.

5. Alpha lipoic acid. This is a close second to glutathione in importance in our cells and is involved in energy production, blood sugar control, brain health and detoxification. The body usually makes it, but given all the stresses we are under, we often become depleted.

6. Methylation nutrients (folate and vitamins B6 and B12). These are perhaps the most critical to keep the body producing glutathione. Methylation and the production and recycling of glutathione are the two most important biochemical functions in your body. Take folate (especially in the active form of 5 methyltetrahydrofolate), B6 (in active form of P5P) and B12 (in the active form of methylcobalamin).

7. Selenium. This important mineral helps the body recycle and produce more glutathione.

8. A family of antioxidants including vitamins C and E (in the form of mixed tocopherols), work together to recycle glutathione.

9. Milk thistle (silymarin) has long been used in liver disease and helps boost glutathione levels.

So use these nine tips and see how they work to help you optimzie your glutathione levels. When you do, you will take one more step to lifelong vibrant health.

Now I'd like to hear from you...

Had you ever heard of this important nutrient before?

Have you tried any of the advice in this article?

What effects have you noticed on your health?

Please leave your thoughts by adding a comment below.

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, M.D.

References

(i) De Rosa SC, Zaretsky MD, Dubs JG, Roederer M, Anderson M, Green A, Mitra D, Watanabe N, Nakamura H, Tjioe I, Deresinski SC, Moore WA, Ela SW, Parks D, Herzenberg LA, Herzenberg LA. N-acetylcysteine replenishes glutathione in HIV infection. Eur J Clin Invest. 2000 Oct;30(10):915-29

(ii) Nuttall S, Martin U, Sinclair A, Kendall M. 1998. Glutathione: in sickness and in health. The Lancet 351(9103):645-646

Mark Hyman, M.D. practicing physician and founder of The UltraWellness Center is a pioneer in functional medicine. Dr. Hyman is now sharing the 7 ways to tap into your body's natural ability to heal itself. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, watch his videos on Youtube and become a fan on Facebook.

Arms Reduction Pact - great news for Planet Earth

From Washington Post Thursday 8 April 2010

President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a sweeping new arms reduction pact on Thursday that pledges to reduce the stockpile of deployed, strategic nuclear weapons in both countries and commits the old Cold War adversaries to new procedures to verify which weapons each country possesses.

In a ceremony in Prague, Obama and Medvedev each signed their names to the document, which U.S. officials said would be posted in full on the Internet later Thursday.

The treaty, called New START, imposes new limits on the ready-to-use, long-range nuclear weapons and pledges to reduce the two biggest nuclear arsenals on the globe.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com:
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/AADB45/LD5W9/OU5U2W/6YU1PY/WCYZK/MQ/t

Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Digicel

Salute to Kiwanis Club of New Kingston Awardees

Dr Carol Jacobs

Excerpt from Jamaica Observer Column - Jean Lowrie-Chin | 29 March 2010

Speaking of those who take their responsibility seriously, we salute the award recipients honoured last Thursday by the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston - Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. The citations to Sonita Abrahams, Dr Carol Jacobs, Senator Marlene Malahoo Forte, Norma Harrack, Esther Tyson and young Anders Jones remind us of our boundless capacity to empower each other.

Our young athletes should note that Anders Jones was only 14 when he came to Jamaica from Boston to visit his father who was on assignment here. He struck up a conversation with his taxi driver who noted that his son attended Mountain View Primary School. Anders asked to stop and see the school and noted the limited computer facilities. He returned home and founded Teens for Technology. Mountain View Primary School and many more throughout Jamaica now have splendid computer labs, thanks to Anders and his team. His initiative has spread to six countries, including Thailand and The Congo, providing IT services for some 500,000 students.

The achievements of all the honourees will no doubt be widely published in the media, but allow me to mention that Dr Carol Jacobs, pioneer in HIV-AIDS treatment in Barbados and globally, is the daughter of Jamaica's family planning pioneers Dr Lenworth Jacobs and the legendary Beth Jacobs. "The apple does not fall far from the tree."

Guiding our youth after Champs

Juilian Forte (left) and Wolmer’s Boys’ teammate Dwayne Extol (right) celebrate their one-two finish in the Class One 200 metres on the final day of the 100th Boys’ and Girls’ Athletic Championships at the National Stadium last night. At centre is Kavean Smith of Jamaica Colege who finished seventh. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

by Jean Lowrie-Chin | Jamaica Observer | Monday, March 29, 2010

As our athletes bask in their achievements at our glorious Champs, we salute their parents, teachers and coaches. We are hoping that the winners will understand that victory comes with responsibility (at press time for this column the winners were not yet known).

It was with a heavy heart that I flipped through a recent issue of Time magazine and saw not one single model of colour promoting any of their high-end brands. The "most unkindest cut of all" came when I saw Leonardo di Caprio (an actor I admire) sporting a Tagheur watch. Tagheur/Tiger - what advertising genius we thought when we first saw the famous golfer sporting the Swiss brand, what a perfect match. An angry night and the revelation of a string of infidelities and suddenly our striding Tiger disappeared from the Accenture ads in Forbes and Fortune.

Oh yes, we know we'll still see him shaving with Gillette and wearing Nikes, but so does every other garden-variety sportsman. What made Tiger so special was that he had broken the glass ceiling of advertising, walking where people of colour were never known to tread.

Those who do not understand the impact of Tiger's "fall" should know that he had been carrying the combined minorities of America on his back - Asian, Native American and Black. He was their poster child who smiled his way from putting on the set of the Johnny Carson show to setting the pace at the Masters. His fall from grace was a blow to ethnic pride.

In fact, in June 2008, I had written: "I am convinced that the recent reign of Tiger Woods, the inspiring stories of his father's dedication played and replayed, Tiger's megawatt grin and fist-pumping on the course has acclimatised the widest cross-section of the American people to the possibility that another dignified, engaging Black American could triumph in a much, much bigger field." Sure enough, in January 2009, Woods was a participant in the celebrations for Barack Obama's presidential inauguration.

We in Jamaica now have our poster child, Usain St Leo Bolt. The fastest man in the world is not only selling Puma sneakers and Gatorade. He is stumping for BMW and Texaco. His heroic pose has turned the world into "signers" - we proclaim our athletic prowess "to the world!". He and his Olympic teammates are the manifestation of 100 years of our schoolboy athletic Championships and over 50 years of schoolgirls' Champs.

The world has responded, filling our hotels, bringing spectators from the diaspora, many of whom had their day on the stadium track, and guests from as far away as South Africa. That spring in our step, that swagger in our gait developed over a century of domination, from the early 20th century when a JC runner named Norman Manley held the world record for the 100-yard dash to our first outing in the Olympics when four legends, Wint, McKenley, Rhoden and Laing, wowed the world. Our athletes should take note of these names - the men who became professionals, leaders and mentors.

Let us use the example of Tiger Woods to counsel our young athletes about the dangers of celebrity. No doubt, Tiger Woods must take the blame for his misdeeds, but we should ask ourselves if naiveté played a role. Perhaps he had not been warned that his astronomical fortune would have made him a target for opportunists. He may survive to star another day. American-Mexican pop star Selena did not, after her fan club leader shot her dead when questioned about misappropriated funds.

Even as our renowned and emerging athletes continue their physical training, they should also be trained to separate the genuine friends and supporters from the hangers-on who come in many stripes and both genders. Having benefited from solid coaching, our athletes should work to keep and increase the admiration and respect they have earned. Their conduct can inspire and lift the nation.

Clifton Forbes

We pause here to reflect on that unforgettable JAAA stalwart, Clifton Forbes, who was recently laid to rest after serving athletics with distinction for several decades. Clifton personified the spirit of volunteerism, always contributing and never drawing attention to his service. He was a true gentleman, dignified and approachable.

The hope Jamaica holds

WE’RE GETTING THERE... PMI's Bishop Herro Blair and USAID's Dr Karen Hilliard, partners with the JCF for safer communities. (Photo: Collin Reid)

by Jean Lowrie-Chin | Jamaica Observer | 22 March 2010

WE can choose to be immobilised by fear or mobilised by faith. This week hundreds of us chose to turn our minds to the hope that our beloved Jamaica still holds. In various places, we reaffirmed Jamaica's promise, focusing on the upcoming EXPO Jamaica Trade Show, the power of sports, JCF's partnerships for safer communities and opportunities for new industries.

Now, we know that negative news is juicy. But there is far more to this "broader than broad" Jamaica. Birmingham knows this, and so officials in the English city are crowing about their big achievement. And would that be? "To say that you're good enough to attract teams such as Jamaica, and athletes such as Usain Bolt to come here, it actually sends a very strong message," exulted Zena Woodbridge, director of sport at the University of Birmingham.

Yes, even as a few are digging themselves into deep despair, the headlines of Birmingham are singing Jamaica's name. And here is why: "Birmingham is expected to get a £15m cash injection this weekend when it signs an Olympic contract with the Jamaican athletics team," reported Sky News last month. We are talking British pounds here, rolling into an English city because our team will train there in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. "The relationship between our two countries is being enriched by what we are doing today," said Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council at the signing. "Birmingham has a heart that beats like fast Jamaican athletes!"

Delano Franklyn's call in the GraceKennedy Foundation Lecture for "a comprehensive plan for leveraging Brand Jamaica" was answered when JMA's Omar Azan announced that the theme for this year's EXPO Jamaica is "Brand Jamaica - to the world!" "There is a need for more creativity and commitment in fast-tracking the manufacturing sector," the JMA president urged. "The future of manufacturing is bright, and the sector is resilient as it competes on the local and international stage and against a tough external and internal environment."

"The only way to get out of debt is to produce more, export more and so earn our way out of our individual and national debt," urged JEA President Vitus Evans. This is no idle talk: the members of the JMA and JEA are committed Jamaican entrepreneurs who are providing employment for tens of thousands of Jamaicans. We are sitting up and taking greater notice of these efforts as once again, we are reminded that moving paper around from bank to bank cannot build an economy.

Three inspiring ladies also bolstered this argument at a meeting of the Women Business Owners last Wednesday evening. Scientific Research Council Executive Director Dr Audia Barnett reminded us that there were multiple opportunities with such products as sorrel and our herbs and spices. Kingston Properties Limited Executive Director Fayval Williams took us through her company's innovative way of raising capital, including investing in valuable Trinidad property and making significant profit in the resale. In building the business with founder Leo Williams, Fayval described a shoe-string first year, advising that we should not rush to create unnecessary overheads.

For people considering new businesses, Fayval said that the trend was for self-improvement and online activities, the top three of which were money and business, health and fitness and dating and relationships. She said that the landscaping industry needs more players and that the JSE Junior Market was an excellent vehicle for small and medium enterprises to raise funds. Today, Dhiru Tanna's Blue Power Group Limited will list on the Junior Stock Exchange, citing excellent prospects for growth.

Financial guru Sandra Shirley pointed to a global movement towards alternative sources of energy with many buildings now incorporating solar panels in their design. She said the seniors' market was growing rapidly and that investors should explore housing solutions for this group. Sandra urged strong corporate governance and suggested an exit strategy for those invited to put up venture capital. She said the media should get involved, calling for more local programming and suggesting a Jamaican adaptation of The Apprentice.

None of this can happen without a safe environment, so for me the crowning event last week was a Community Based Policing (CBP) event held by the JCF in collaboration with several agencies. I saw an energised SDC actively fulfilling its mandate. The dynamic Dr Karen Hilliard, head of the USAID, underlined her country's commitment to Jamaica and PMI head, Bishop Herro Blair, moved the audience with his heartfelt prayer.

We heard about the growth of partnerships between the police, residents, civic groups, public sector and international donor agencies. Assistant Commissioner Novelette Grant traced the 17-year journey of CBP, involving extensive training. She thanked the USAID, DFID represented by British High Commissioner Howard Drake and the UNDP's Deputy Resident Representative Akiko Fujii, for their support. Other partners are the Citizens Justice and Security Programme, Citizens Security Initiative, Jamaica Social Investment Fund, National Housing Trust and the National Neighbourhood Watch Movement.

And then, representatives of the communities spoke as if with one voice. Enfield, St Mary; Mountain View, St Andrew, "Russia" in Savanna-la-mar, Westmoreland. They are humble, resolute individuals who represent the Jamaica we know, the Jamaica that is still alive. The communities have experienced "a complete turnaround in terms of crime, public disorder, and youth anti-social behaviour".

Anthony Earle of "Russia" cited the unifying force of reggae music and football. Of the police liaison officer he says, "I see him as a friend, not a threat. He is welcome anytime, day or night."

These entrepreneurs, security officers, agencies and ordinary Jamaican people are sending us an important message: they see a strong future for Jamaica. We are not sitting and fretting over the negatives of our country. We are planning and working to overcome them. Let the world know, as Birmingham knows: we are a courageous people who will never give up on our vision of "Jamaica, strong and free".

Joscelyn Lowrie Award for Top Accounting Student

Beth Ann Jacobs' representative Millicia Henry accepts the Joscelyn Lowrie Award from Maisie Lowrie, widow of the late Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, while PROComm Board Member Hubert Chin looks on. The inaugural presentation, the Award goes to the student who scores the highest mark in Paper P4-Professional Accountant. Ms. Jacobs scored 85%.

The Award is sponsored by PROComm as a tribute to legendary chartered accountant Joscelyn Lowrie. "Our company has survived for over 30 years, thanks to the values and wisdom handed down by my brilliant father," commented PROComm's Founder, Jean Lowrie-Chin. "This award honours his passion for excellence and integrity."

Prediction, Action and Outcome

BY JAMES MOSS-SOLOMON

SUNDAY OBSERVER column | Sunday, March 14, 2010

My friend, the great economist Ralston Hyman, usually starts his commentaries by quoting noted international economists who have given thought to particular macro-economic problems. I, being far less sophisticated than Ralston, will therefore have to rely on my practical nature to endorse for the country of Jamaica P X A = O. Where P is prediction, A is for action and O is for outcome. Readers, please note that it is a multiplication sign between P and A, therefore, if one of the multipliers is zero then the outcome will also be zero.

For over two years, this writer has been making predictions (P), which I feel need to be acted on with alacrity. I get the feeling that action (A) is not one of our strong points in the political or productive sectors, and therefore it is no surprise that we are going to have to be governed by the IMF. So much for our vaunted "sovereignty". With that said, I wish to examine 10 issues:

1. Economic Depression
I had indicated to the public that what we were going to experience was not a mere "financial blip", but rather a full worldwide depression similar to that experienced between 1929 and 1938. We, of course, laughed at that prediction and tried to cover up the possibilities of disaster. The massive unemployment and deterioration in living conditions is a result of a lack of action, and therefore we have no positive outcome.

2. Closure of Bauxite Companies
I had predicted that due to the depressed nature of world markets we would see a closure of bauxite companies. This was treated as if it was some safely guarded secret, and no one spoke about it until reality has given us a zero outcome and severe loss in foreign exchange earnings.

3. Engineers and Machinery
I had suggested that several engineers would be out of work as a result of the fallout of the bauxite industry. In addition, many pieces of earth-moving and construction equipment would become available, and perhaps the rental rates would be less than customary as heavy equipment which is left unused often deteriorates at a faster rate than when in use.

4. Infrastructure Employment
The suggestion was made that said engineers and equipment could have been used for major infrastructure undertakings such as the construction of roads, as well as projects involving the storage of additional amounts of water and the replacement of leaking pipes, which would lower the line losses experienced by the National Water Commission. This suggestion was also disregarded. We have wasted one year in commencing operations, leaving many persons with skills without jobs.

5. Gabion Baskets
It was suggested that we engage persons with low skill levels in the production of Gabion baskets, which would be necessary for road repairs, hillside retention, river training, and sea defence. This was ignored. Today, the unskilled sit by the sidewalk, smoking 'you know what', and by not earning a penny sink deeper into depression while contemplating a life of crime as a survival strategy. The Government has lost revenue as well as consumption in the domestic market, and the poor are getting poorer. We currently import Gabion baskets from China. The outcome is negative.

6. Bank Closure and Unemployment
At lower interest rates, many banks that had over-expanded, I had indicated, would have to close several of their branches. The positive to this is that banks will now have to earn their money through good banking practices, but at the same time they will have made a significant number of people unemployed. Unfortunately this will continue for several months.

7. China's Mineral Policy
I had carefully explained the items and actions highlighted in China's strategic plan as published as part of their development programme. I indicated that their need for aluminium would allow them, as one of the few countries with cash, to buy mining resources worldwide. This is true for Jamaica and it is only a matter of time before we hear who will buy our bauxite companies. It seems we are about to sell an asset that is extremely valuable not due to our own initiative, but because of geographical location. Jamaica is in the best position for providing north/south and east/west container traffic. So let us see how cheaply we can give away this natural resource. I can almost guarantee that if we do sell them, within three years there will be no Jamaicans working at these facilities. Start studying Mandarin and Spanish, please.

8. Caricom Rules
At the time of some trade disputes, I had advised that the unilateral lowering of the Common External Tariff would be in contravention of the Revised Treaty, and businesses would be protected through the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). To date awards have been made against countries that insist on ignoring the rules. So here we are again today with another dispute over cement importation, which appears not to have been handled in accordance with the correct procedures for obtaining derogation. Waivers continue to be a very topical matter, and each time they are issued they seem to smack of political favouritism. So the government willingly or perhaps inadvertently continues to set itself up to be accused of corruption, which is certainly shared by the IMF based on their stance against waivers.

9. Transparency
The suggestion was made that to take a path other than the purely transparent route would be to intentionally ask that accusations of impropriety be levelled against government officials. The Contractor General's department now seems to have their hands full with investigations into areas which could have been avoided if a more open communication policy was adopted. Perhaps the Contractor General's department will have to beef itself up with the redundant employees from bauxite and Air Jamaica.

10. The Rule of Law
I have said very publicly and clearly since 1996 that if politicians choose to remain in the company of criminals and/or criminal gangs, then they would be unable to effectively govern this country. That day is here and both political parties are not blameless, and must realise that they have lost control. I can see where a simple situation as the protests by the Nurses Association of Jamaica about pay owed to them can tip a snowball down this slippery slope, and gather tremendous momentum, perhaps leading to a general strike as has been the case in other countries.
My prediction (P) is that any helpful comments will continue to be ignored, no effective action (A) will be taken, and therefore the outcome (O) will still be zero.

STUDENTS GEAR UP FOR SALTFISH CULINARY CHALLENGE 2010

Chef Colin Hylton's Saltfish Pasta



Chef Anthony Miller's Sugarcane Skewered Saltfish


CULINARY STUDENTS GEAR UP FOR SALTFISH CULINARY CHALLENGE 2010

Kingston, Jamaica, March 3, 2010: The second annual Saltfish Culinary Challenge dubbed this year as ‘Me and My Family' Saltfish from Norway event will be held on Sunday March 21 at the HEART Runaway Bay Academy.

Students from the University of Technology and the Heart Academy have been invited to prepare a creative and innovative saltfish dish with the assistance of a family member. Ten culinary students will be selected as finalists to present on the day of the Challenge.

The winning student will receive an all-expense paid trip to the Dominican Republic in October later this year for its annual Saltfish Festival. Second and third place teams will receive kitchen utensils and appliances valued at $150,000 and $100,000 respectively.

The Challenge follows on the ‘Saltfish Culinary Adventure’, the successful culinary workshops held in 2008 and 2009 and sponsored by Seafood from Norway. The exclusive workshops, have featured renowned Brazilian culinary artist, Chef Dada, and Norwegian Chef, Sven Erik Renaa, who shared new and non-traditional methods of creating tasty, gourmet style saltfish dishes.

Espen Hanson, Marketing Manager, Norwegian Seafood Export Council is excited about this Challenge. “Through initiatives such as these we will continue to encourage the use of saltfish in exciting and creative ways and build awareness of the product while promoting its value and versatility.”

The distinguished judges for the ‘Me and Family Challenge’ are Champion Chefs of the Seafood Culinary Challenge 2009, Anthony Miller, Executive Chef, Couples Swept Away, Colin Hilton, Owner and Chef, Guilt Trip and 2nd place winner, Chef Debe-Ann Chen. The main criteria for the judging of the saltfish dishes are creativity/originality, taste/flavour and presentation.

Curing the disease of crime - Social & Political Issues - JamaicaObserver.com

Curing the disease of crime - Social & Political Issues - JamaicaObserver.com

Depending on our kindness

Drs Shane Alexis and Khia Josina Duncan in Haiti

Jean-Lowrie Chin | Jamaica Observer | Monday, February 22, 2010

“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers,” said a Tennessee Williams character. But we Jamaicans are no strangers to our sisters and brothers in Haiti. Shane Alexis and eight fellow members of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association, Ryan Peralto and Petri Ann Henry of Food for the Poor recently shared their experiences as they worked to help our devastated neighbours. They have no regrets, despite the terrible suffering they saw.

Yes, I am writing about Haiti again because as actor Sean Penn begged on CNN's Larry King Live recently, “Do not tune out – Haiti needs us!” Shane Alexis, who is JMDA president, shared with me a special issue of the organisation’s Check Up magazine, describing the Haiti experience. Youth is definitely not wasted on this passionate, energetic young man. So anxious is he to get his association's message out that he is editor, photographer and gopher for this magazine. (If, like me, you have been enjoying the Tru-Juice health page in the Observer, you should know that Dr Alexis contributes to it).

Dr Khia Josina Duncan, a member of the JMDA mission, wrote feelingly about her experience at the Bernard Mevs Hospital in Port-au-Prince: “The cries for help… were overwhelming,” she remembered. “There were so many fractures we ran out of plaster of Paris very quickly… I assisted mostly with amputations, while the others continued dressings and administered antibiotics that were now getting scarce. Many of the patients could have been discharged but of course they had nowhere to go.”

“What was being shown on TV was nothing compared to the… destruction we saw,” wrote Khia. “The first thing I did when I got home was to have a long shower, and I noticed a continuous tremor in my hands which lasted about four days… It was a good experience for all of us. I’m getting back to normal now but I know I’ll never be the same.”

Shane was so concerned about the unavailability of medical records that his association got 5,000 record de santé books printed and shipped to Haiti for patients' data. He said Haitians were not passively waiting for help but were making every effort to help themselves. “People were moving about, trying to pick up the pieces,” he said. He related that a Haitian family, related to Mrs Kameel Azan, was tireless in working to help others.

Ryan Peralto Jr, CEO and Petri Ann Henry, Public Relations Officer of Food for the Poor (FFTP) Jamaica, went on a fact-finding mission to establish the most pressing needs to be funded by the donations from ordinary Jamaicans, moved to dig deep for Haiti. “RJR Group has entrusted us with $15 million collected from the Jamaican people, and we have also received $5 million through our account. We are preparing detailed updates so that these kind people will know that every dollar of the funds is well spent.”

“While we were travelling on a street in Port-Au-Prince just observing the level of devastation, I saw a lady about my age or younger with no top on and she was bathing on the street. People were just passing by, business as usual, she had no privacy,” said Petri-Ann. “It reminded me how we take simple things, such as privacy, for granted.”

Ryan's and Petri's most moving moment was praying with FFTP Haiti representatives at the mass graves of earthquake victims. “We just stood there holding our rosaries, praying and praying. I felt so apologetic to the victims in the mass graves. I kept saying to them in my heart that I knew they deserved better than that,” said a pensive Ryan. “Imagine, one mass grave held an entire school of children. Heartbreaking!”

So traumatised are the surviving victims that most refuse to return to their homes, even the sturdy ones built by Food for the Poor. Port-au-Prince is a tent city with the most basic of facilities. Happily, the FFTP Haiti headquarters and warehouse were largely spared, and a Haitian women’s cooperative uses the donated food to cook and serve 4,000 hot meals daily.

Ryan’s photographs give a glimpse of the continuous emergency that is Haiti: a little van pressed into service to rush oxygen cylinders to hospitals, water feverishly distributed as “There is tremendous fear of a widespread outbreak of disease.”

Meanwhile, several people have been hinting that Haiti may well be much, much richer than Jamaica. So I googled “oil in Haiti” and turned up an article written last year by Haitian-American attorney-at-law and author Ezili Dantò.

“There is evidence that the United States found oil in Haiti decades ago and due to the geopolitical circumstances and big business interests of that era made the decision to keep Haitian oil in reserve for when Middle Eastern oil had dried up,” alleges Dantò. “This is detailed by Dr Georges Michel in an article dated March 27, 2004 outlining the history of oil explorations and oil reserves in Haiti and in the research of Dr Ginette and Daniel Mathurin.”

If this were indeed true, it could “build a heaven out of hell’s despair”. But then, as Shane, Khia, Ryan and Petri-Ann are doing, right now we can continue to participate in the building of a new Haiti.

DENIS O’BRIEN NAMED GOODWILL AMBASSADOR FOR THE CITY OF PORT-AU-PRINCE

Thursday, 18th February 2010 – Kingston, Jamaica: Digicel Founder and Chairman, Denis O’Brien, has been named as a goodwill ambassador for the city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti, it was announced today.

The honour comes in recognition of Mr. O’Brien’s dedication to helping Haiti recover and rebuild in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince on 12th January and was bestowed on Mr. O’Brien by the mayor of Port-au-Prince, Jean Yves Jason and the deputy mayor, Nadeje Augustin in a meeting in the Haitian capital on Tuesday 9th February.

Since the earthquake, Mr. O’Brien has been instrumental in efforts to attract much-needed aid relief to the stricken country – as well as to encourage businesses to consider Haiti as an ideal place for foreign direct investment.

In accepting the honour, Mr. O’Brien commented; “In my role as goodwill ambassador for the city of Port-au-Prince, I promise to do everything in my power to ensure that the plight of the people of Haiti is kept front of mind across the globe. I would like to thank the mayor and the deputy mayor for this honour."

He continued, “Over the last few weeks, we have seen a massive worldwide outpouring of sympathy and support, but much more is needed. The challenge is to achieve significant and sustained foreign investment and to ensure that this money is channeled into the right projects and succeeds in making a tangible positive long term difference. With the right focus and planning, together, we can help Haiti to rise again.”

Mayor of Port-au-Prince, Jean Yves Jason, commented; “Since before Digicel’s launch here in Haiti back in 2006, Denis O’Brien has been a huge supporter of our country – and has worked tirelessly to ensure a better standard of living for our people through the provision of housing, educational facilities and programmes. He is very much the right person to help us to rebuild and to look to the future in a positive way. We are delighted that he has accepted this role and look forward to working together closely for the long-term benefit of the Haitian people.”

As the single largest investor in Haiti with a total investment of over U$300 million since its launch in 2006, Digicel has over two million customers in Haiti. The Digicel Haiti Relief Fund has donated US$5 million to NGOs in Haiti to support the relief efforts and to date over US$800,000 has been raised by Digicel customers across the Caribbean and Central America through a text and voice donation line. Digicel also gave each of its two million customers US$5 in free credit – totaling US$10 million.

'Hall' of fame - Senior Gleaner reporter takes journalism top prize

Laura Redpath, Senior Staff Reporter

GLEANER SENIOR staff reporter Arthur Hall is the Press Association of Jamaica's (PAJ) 2009 Journalist of the Year.

Hall took the award for a body of work that included the story of a teenager who was arrested for abandoning her physically handicapped baby, allegedly to attend a stage show.

Last year, Hall's work also stirred controversy when he reported on the approximately 80 students at the Pembroke Hall Primary School in St Andrew who were to resit the Grade Four Literacy Test after their test papers were not identified by the education ministry.

The title of Journalist of the Year is Hall's first 'major' award in a more than 15-year journalism career. It is his first PAJ award.

Beginnings in print

Hall started off in print, at the now-defunct Jamaica Record , before moving on to radio station KLAS as a reporter. He would later work as news editor at Nationwide before moving on to RJR, where he took the role of associate editor. He was also news editor at Television Jamaica.

"I was never a broadcaster," Hall said, explaining his move back to print media. He has been with The Gleaner for the past two years and said he signed up with the leading daily "to win awards".

As for his future in journalism, Hall said when reporting is no longer fun, it will be time for him to move on.

"I'm enjoying it now," he said.

Hall said he likes telling stories, being on the scene and informing the public.

Meanwhile, guest speaker at yesterday's award presentation, RJR's Managing Director Gary Allen, charged journalists to strive for excellence as it was the "survival tool" for reporting.

For his accomplishment, Hall took home a cheque sponsored by The National Council on Technical Vocational Education and Training, and a trophy.

laura.redpath@gleanerjm.com

Haiti Mourns Its Dead - New York Times

Haitians mourned during a memorial service on Sunday. The government said more than 230,000 people died in the earthquake.

By DEBORAH SONTAG | New York Times | Published: February 14, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Will anyone remember that 17-year-old Angelania Ritchelle, a parentless high school student who wanted to be a fashion model, died of fright two days after the earthquake and ended up in a mass grave on the outskirts of this city?

Haitians gathered on Sunday for prayer and a memorial service during a period of mourning. Belatedly, funerals and memorial services are taking place daily.

Emmanuella Dupoux's cousin died after the quake. “She is just one of the nameless, faceless victims, and I hate that,” she said.

A Haitian woman prayed at dawn inside of the remains of the main Cathedral in Port-au-Prince in February.

That is what her cousin Emmanuella Dupoux, 23, her voice thick with emotion, wanted to know. “Angie was a nobody, she died a nobody, she will never have a funeral, she will never have a tombstone,” Ms. Dupoux said. “She is just one of the nameless, faceless victims, and I hate that.”

In Haitian society, Rudy Bennett, 57, was a somebody, a prominent businessman and the younger brother of Michele Bennett, the former first lady and ex-wife of Jean-Claude Duvalier. But his death got little notice here, either.

Few were aware that his sister, a polarizing figure who lives in exile, had flown in with a search-and-rescue team to look for Mr. Bennett in the rubble of the Montana Hotel, where he had gone to fix an espresso machine leased from his food company. He was buried just last week.

The Jan. 12 earthquake was an equal opportunity leveler with such mass deadliness that it erased the individuality of its victims. According to the Haitian government, more than 230,000 people died in the disaster, but initially few had ceremonies to mark their deaths. Even the collective loss of life was not memorialized until this past weekend, when the government imposed a national period of mourning.

Bit by bit, though, the individual losses are coming into focus for Haitians finally ready to grieve. Many victims were not accepted as dead until the search missions were over, and many bodies were never recovered or were dumped in mass graves. But belatedly, funerals and memorial services are taking place daily, and the traditional word-of-mouth network known as telediol has reawakened, delivering death notices.

If Haiti, always stoic, first seemed too stunned to cry, the tears are rolling now for those who seem irreplaceable: the tax man who wrote software to detect fraud in a corrupt society; the gallery owner whose eminent Haitian art collection perished with her; the writer who translated the culture’s oral storytelling into prose; the feminist leaders; the nursing students; the factory workers; the teachers; and the children, especially the children.

“My little girls died at the very moment I was making plans for their future,” said Frantz Thermilus, the chief of Haiti’s National Judicial Police, caressing their pictures on his cellphone. “And the future of the children is the future of Haiti.”
His daughters Talitha, 12, and Emmanuella, 11, were crushed in their school, the Christian Institute of Haiti, when their mother was late to pick them up. She had been diverted by Mr. Thermilus, who had insisted that she stop first at an English-language academy to register the girls for intensive classes, he said.

“Someone else offered them a ride, but that person was not authorized to pick them up, and the school’s guardian wouldn’t let them go,” he said. “To show you just how sweet they were — they could have left without her permission. But they always respected authority.”

Head shaved, spine erect, epaulets starched, Mr. Thermilus spoke in his office at police headquarters. Tearing up, he said his daughters used to run to greet him when he arrived home. Talitha would tuck under his right arm, Emmanuella under his left, and he would debrief them on their days.

Now, having sent his wife and 3-year-old son to New York, he has barely left work since the earthquake. “When I go home, I’m in pain,” he said. “Here I can do something constructive.”

The earthquake not only took away his girls, Mr. Thermilus said, but allowed the 5,000 inmates in the country’s main prison to escape. “In those few minutes, so much I cared about was undone,” he said. “Justice undone, children gone, innocence destroyed. I mourn it all.”

Many mourn the older victims who had weathered a lifetime of Haiti’s adversity and served as the institutional memory of many sectors of society.
Brother Hubert Sanon, 85, for instance, was the first Haitian member of the Salesian order of the Roman Catholic Church, which plays a caretaker role for poor and orphaned children in Haiti.

The Salesians raised former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, ordained him as a priest and eventually expelled him; Mr. Aristide ran, and radicalized, their vocational school in the neighborhood of La Saline, where Brother Sanon was sent afterward to restore order, the Rev. Sylvain Ducange said.

Brother Sanon died in his dormitory room at the school, whose collapse also killed scores of students. He was found sitting in his chair, rosary beads in hand, Father Ducange said.

A tailor by training, Brother Sanon had made the robes for priests and lawyers in Haiti for many decades. “Who will do this now?” Father Ducange asked.

And who will root out corruption with the single-mindedness of Lytz Elie, 43, an electronics engineer who had designed the Haitian government’s new software to fight fraud? He was killed in the tax department’s offices; like many government workers who died at their desks, he was among the most dedicated, working past quitting time.

“Most of the people who died at the I.R.S. and the Supreme Court are the die-hards,” said Louis Herns Marcelin, a sociology professor at the University of Miami. “They are the ones who understood their work meant something bigger than themselves.”
Referring to Mr. Elie, he said, “This guy who died is irreplaceable. He was against corruption with a passion. He was creating software that understood how Haitian bureaucrats steal and lie.”

To many writers, the loss of Georges Anglade, a geographer who had turned to fiction and literary theory later in life, seems unfathomable. A Haitian-Canadian, Mr. Anglade invented a literary genre in the style of Haitian oral storytelling. “He helped Haiti understand itself, and his death is a big loss for the intellectual world here,” said Evelyne Trouillot, a novelist and short-story writer.

Micha Bennett, 27, whose father died at the Montana Hotel, said, “It is hard to focus on any one individual because the country lost the country. “But I know this: the last time I saw my father was the day of my wedding” in Miami Beach, shortly before the quake. “And it was one of the happiest days of his life.”

Patrick Delatour, 61, Haiti’s tourism minister, who is charged with overseeing the country’s reconstruction, spoke in a vacant motorcycle showroom beneath his temporary office about the loss of his octogenarian parents, misting up among the Harley-Davidsons.

“Watch out, you’re going to make me cry,” he said. “We in the government haven’t really had time to bathe in our own sorrow. To a certain extent, that has been a blessing. One month after the death of my parents, it’s just starting to sink in.”
His father, Cavour Delatour, 89, was an engineer and architect who spent half a century constructing and reconstructing the house that collapsed on him and his wife. He had worked on buildings throughout Port-au-Prince, including the destroyed National Palace, for which he served as engineer.

“It would have devastated him to see everything in ruins,” Mr. Delatour said.
One of the foremost collectors and promoters of Haitian art, his mother, Carmel Delatour, 85, amassed hundreds of works, including those of Bernard Séjourné, Andre Pierre and Tiga. Her 34-year-old gallery, Rainbow Art Display, crumbled with her home.

“The art died with her,” Mr. Delatour said.

The only room that survived was the basement library, thousands of tomes that make up “a strong part of the Haitian archives and the country’s memory,” Mr. Delatour said, adding, “So they leave behind all this knowledge to guide us.”
Angelania, the 17-year-old who aspired to be a model, did not leave anything behind, according to her cousin, Ms. Dupoux — “not a dress, not a notebook, not a trace.” Having fended for herself since her parents abandoned her at 4, she was often stressed, and the earthquake seemed to push her over the edge, said Ms. Dupoux, who lived with her.

“She was freaking out, screaming, ‘I have no school. I have no house. I have nothing. Why go on?’ ” Ms. Dupoux said. “Two days after the earthquake, these guys started pounding on the gates of the yard where we were sleeping, yelling, ‘A tsunami is coming.’ Everyone panicked and ran out, except Angie.

“Her heart stopped.”

Marc Lacey contributed reporting.

An assignment to finish

Archbishop Lawrence Burke


Professor Rex Nettleford

I wondered how I would weave the passing of two great Jamaicans with my plan to write on the protection of Jamaica's children. Then I realised that the lives of Professor Rex Nettleford and Archbishop Lawrence Burke supported the cry of Jamaican sociologist Dr Claudette Crawford-Brown.

Many glowing tributes to these legendary human beings have been written already, so this column will focus on the lessons they have left. Students of both the professor and the archbishop remark on their passion for excellence, and their demand for discipline.

A journalist shared an experience, learning at the feet of Prof Nettleford. "He insisted on punctuality and would close the door of the classroom just before beginning his lecture. I was a few minutes late so I stood by the window to try to listen in. Continuing his lecture, he walked over to the window and gently closed it. I was never late again!" You could use the start of NDTC performances to set your watch.

Last year, Archbishop Burke broke ground for a building at his alma mater, St George's College, where he had been teacher and principal. He harked back to his time where teachers not only taught, but "took ownership" of the buildings to ensure that their pupils had surroundings conducive to learning. He spoke of the value of education to liberate and transform our people. "I have walked with the richest and the poorest and felt at home with them," he said. "This little boy from Vineyard Town is proof of what education can do for our people."

These learned men were not afraid to challenge the status quo. Addressing a luncheon of the Public Relations Society in the 80s, Professor Nettleford said he asked an advertising executive why more people of his colour were not used in advertisements. He said he was told it was some problem with the lighting and retorted, "Well, fix the lighting!" He knew the power of the media in the process of self-actualisation.

Archbishop Burke welcomed the news of free tuition for high schools, and called for graduates to give one year's unpaid service as teachers' assistants in our overcrowded primary schools in inner-city communities. However, he said the very same people who were complaining about the country asked him if he was crazy to suggest this for their children.

What would have happened if young Rex of Bunkers Hill, Trelawny, and young Larry of Vineyard Town, Kingston, did not have a support system that would take them safely through their childhood and into productive adulthood? This is the concern of sociologist Dr Claudette Crawford-Brown who made a powerful presentation recently at the annual Ambassador Sue Cobb Lecture.

Dr Crawford-Brown, lecturer in sociology, psychology and social work in the UWI Faculty of Social Sciences, discussed her findings from a six-year stint in an inner-city community where she worked with 35 teenaged boys whom her group tried to "pull from the cliff" in a tug-o-war with criminal gangs. She insisted that the heads of these gangs should be described as "criminal leaders", not community leaders.

She said she spoke with children from criminal families who were defensive -- "Him in jail but is not him do it" -- and downright confused: "Mi father go out with him gun and him Bible -- Jesus will protect him."

Crawford-Brown said that there had been good initiatives but they ended as soon as funding dried up. She wants the government to develop a concept, a sustainable framework for violence prevention. "Criminals do not drop out of the sky at 18," she declared as she demanded that even as we work on gang-busting, we stem that flow of recruitment.

She said that of the 824 major crimes committed by boys in 2005, 10 per cent were in the 12-15 age group and 90 per cent were in the 16-20-year range. She is weary of the authorities telling her when she warns them about a wayward boy, "I can't do anything with him until he commits a crime." She says girls are now increasingly being found with weapons in their schoolbags.

Crawford-Brown has winnowed out the predictive factors that could make a child easy prey for gangs: the absent mother, lack of contact with father, lack of contact with mother, relationship with negative peers and severe conduct disorder.

The absent mother is the most significant, says the sociologist, who coined the phrase "barrel children" and now fears that there is an even more at-risk category: "The Western Union children". She says that at least the mothers of the barrel children were still in touch with their children's growth as they were buying their clothes, matching shoes to outlines of feet, etc. Now that many are just sending money, the children "buy anything, including drugs".

"These are symptoms of a state that is not providing social welfare in a meaningful way," says Crawford-Brown. She says there is a lack of political will, reflected in the "ah nuh nutten syndrome". There is a layer of apathy, "like scar tissue" on our society, she believes. She has developed programmes that have shown positive results, "a nurturing model, clinical and community-based". She describes "hug therapy" for children who have never been hugged and efforts to get grieving children to cry so they can heal. She has had success in schools using pop culture: she is seeing bullies bettering themselves because they want to enter what she has dubbed "The Behaviour Hype Zone". She wants us to "stop wringing our hands" and start focusing on the tenuous lives of our at-risk children.

We know why we so deeply feel the loss of Professor Nettleford and Archbishop Burke: they did not simply parade their qualifications and talents, but used them to raise our sights and better our circumstances. There are national treasures like young Rex and Larry waiting to be nurtured and we must protect them from the gangs that hover dangerously. To mourn is not enough - our distinguished teachers have left us a life-saving assignment that we must not fail to complete.

'Souldance' for Rex Nettleford

-Photo by Maria Layacona

Souldance

How wondrous is the truth I found
The soul is not by body bound
It travels like a ray of light
And sees with universal sight

And so my soul will keep me whole
When senses fail and steps grow slow
This body is a tiny stage
On which the soul performs a phase

Come, fly beyond the day and night
Sway your soul to strains of light
God’s music falls like sweet, soft rain
Takes you past all fear and pain

Clap soul-hands, tap soul-feet
And dance to Heaven’s mighty beat!

(c) Jean Lowrie-Chin

Aspirin advice from Dr Heather Little-White

Something that we can do to help ourselves.  Nice to know. 
Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve under the tongue. They work much faster than the tablets.

Why keep aspirin by your bedside? 
About Heart Attacks

There are other symptoms of an heart attack besides the pain on the left arm. 

One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating, however these symptoms may also occur less frequently.

Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack.  The majority of people (about 60%) who  had a heart attack during their sleep, did not wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep.

If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water.

Afterwards:
- phone a neighbour or a family member who lives very close by
- say "heart attack!"
- say that you have taken 2 aspirins..
- take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and...
~ do NOT lie down ~

A Cardiologist has stated that, if each person, after receiving this e-mail, sends it to 10 people, probably one life can be saved!

Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Digicel

'When I was hungry, you invested'

Hon. Karl Hendrickson

by Jean Lowrie-Chin | Jamaica Observer | 1 February 2010
(Click on title for full column)

Four prime ministers at his birthday celebration, and no media. Fifty million donated to his alma mater, Jamaica College, and minimal publicity. His friends and associates know that I could be writing about only one person: Karl Hendrickson. The Jamaican public may be surprised to know that this elegant patriot who recently achieved fourscore years has founded, and with his four children re-engineered a group of homegrown companies with a total workforce of over 3,000.

Today, Gary runs National Baking in Kingston and Coconut Bay Resort and Spa in St Lucia; Lori-Ann and her husband Dave run Caribbean Broilers, Newport Mills and their subsidiaries; Kevin and wife Jackie operate Yummy Bakery in Mandeville, The Courtleigh and Knutsford Court hotels in Kingston and the Holiday Inn in Montego Bay; Cathy and husband Ian operate Sunset Beach Resort & Spa in Montego Bay, Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios, Sunset at the Palms in Negril.

The business pioneer recalls that when the family decided to invest in the hotel industry, they got solid advice from other hoteliers. What would this country be without such daring investors? Entrepreneurship is probably the greatest and least acknowledged response to the Christian mandate, which in modern times could be translated as, "When I was hungry, you invested."

Karl is asked regularly, "How did you mentor all of your four children to become such successful entrepreneurs?" His first response is to praise his wife Nell, who he says has been the strength of the family. "I knew that with guidance they would realise their capabilities," he says. "It is important to release energy, intellect, potential."

The iconic business leader harks back to the 70s when they saw many of their extended family members migrating: "But we made a collective decision to stay in Jamaica. Times were tough ... the family, including the children, focused on work and home. It made them stronger and inculcated positive work habits. They also developed a deep compassion for the less fortunate." He is grateful that his grandchildren are now showing the traditional Hendrickson caring, diligence and discipline.

For the Hendrickson family, business is an integral part of their lives. "Even during the short holidays we took, we used the time to acquire knowledge about new technology, equipment and processes that were taking place around the world. I can't remember ever leading a boring life. Business is a full-time commitment," says Karl, "seven days a week, 365 days a year. I am not a hobby person, my hobby is work."

"I am a manufacturing person," emphasises Karl. "I believe if Jamaica is to progress we should go back to production; we need to respond to the necessary discipline that goes into production. This will generate quality employment for our people, and this deviation from production is why Jamaica has not seen growth."

FFTP in Haiti - solar powered water purification and much more

Today's Update from Food For The Poor - Tuesday 26 January 2010:

* Food For The Poor donated a solar-powered water purification machine that is processing thousands of gallons of water a day at the International Red Cross compound in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

*We have begun to distribute rice and beans in Cite Soleil through a women's organization.

* Two trucks of rice, beans, water, tents, clothing and shoes are being sent today to three beneficiaries in Jacmel.

* We are giving rice and beans to community leaders in six tent cities of Petionville, with about 6,000 displaced residents in each. The food is cooked from noon to 3 p.m., and distributed from 3 to 5 p.m.

* Food For The Poor installed an 8,000-gallon water tanks in the largest tent city in Port-au-Prince, the one at Delmas 40B. Today (1/26) they will receive 30,000 gallons of water. The camp is a shelter now for at least 50,000 people.

* 20,000 hot meals at Port-au-Prince Feeding Center daily. (Rue Barbancourt, Route de l'Aeroport)

* Two trucks of rice, beans, water, tents, clothing and shoes are being sent today to three beneficiaries in Jacmel.

* Food For The Poor has begun to distribute rice and beans in Cite Soleil through a women's organization.

* We are giving rice and beans to community leaders in six tent cities of Petionville, with about 6,000 displaced residents in each. The food is cooked from noon to 3 p.m., and distributed from 3 to 5 p.m.

* We also are distributing Crocs to those same tent cities. (Many people did not have their shoes with them after the quake and the glass and rubble on the streets are very dangerous.)

*We are supplying oxygen to 14 hospitals and clinics. Hospitals/clinics receiving oxygen are:

* Saint Francois Salle

* Asile Francais, Rue de Centre

* Bernard Mevs

* Communaute Haitienne, Rue Audant, Route de Freres

* Le Mesi

* MediMax

* Saint Espirit

* Maternite de Petion-Ville, 1 Rue Goulard

* They called Food For The Poor at noon 1/23 with a desperate situation: because of the destruction of the other hospitals they have an overflow of maternity patients that they cannot turn away. They are filled to capacity and have no food to feed their patients. They asked us for tents and food this morning and we are here at the hospital gate already (4:30 p.m.) about to deliver five large tents, 45 bags (110 pounds each) of rice, 10 bags of beans and jelly-filled toaster pastries. They were also given water, shoes and medical supplies - including IV kits.

* CDO

* Canape-Vert, Route du Canape-Vert

* Foyer Saint Camille

* In addition, Food For The Poor distributed medicine from Americares to various hospitals, finishing the day at Delmas 40B, the makeshift clinic at the tent city.

* In Cap-Haitien, we are distributing food, personal hygiene kits and Crocs to people fleeing Port-au-Prince. We are able to serve hot meals. We are seeing about 2,000 people arrive each day from Port-au-Prince.

* Food For The Poor is supplying its elderly home, girls' and boys' Angel of Hope homes, and the Little Children of Jesus Handicapped Home with hot meals each day. We are serving about 700 people a day in these homes.

The fault line in Haiti runs straight to France

Times Online - link sent to me by Ambassador Anthony Hill

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/ben_macintyre/article6995750.ece
Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Digicel

BBC E-mail: Haiti quake: Survivors' stories

jean saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you
should see it.

** Haiti quake: Survivors' stories **
Stories of survival from the few who managed to escape after being trapped in the rubble after Haiti's catastrophic earthquake.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8459090.stm >

** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/email >

LUKE 13 - from Paul Pottinger

Paul Pottinger sent this wise message:

Christ's words below came as a reminder to me as I pondered the tragedy in Haiti and wondered why. 

Luke 13
A Call to Repentance
 1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 "Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?" Jesus asked. "Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too."
Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Digicel

Letter from Liony in Haiti

Letter from Food For The Poor Country Manager, Liony Batista

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday 01/19/10

Beloved,

There are so many stories of lives lost and so many wounded hearts in Haiti that it is beyond words. When asked by a reporter to describe its events I could only say: "I don't believe a word has been invented for what is happening in Haiti. It is total disaster.” But through it all, the people of Haiti have been remarkably resilient despite insurmountable odds. Don't be too concerned with reports on some looting or a little chaos. The people of Haiti have shown tremendous civility while having to face thousands of people lying in their streets or trapped under the rubble of cement. It is beyond comprehension, I feel, that they have fared so well under such dire circumstances.

The Food For The Poor/Haiti office has shown incredible stamina while facing their own tragedies, as no one has been left untouched by this disaster. And still they are out there in the trenches. Because this is a war of a different nature and it has to be fought and won. Yesterday at the hotel, people from Haiti he is familiar with came each with their particular story: parents deceased, children lost, husbands or wives missing; there have probably been enough tears shed in Haiti to flood the greatest of rivers...a few times over. So do not lose your determination to convey to those you know and who have supported FFP that this is an unprecedented event that defies comparison, but that through it all God’s gracious mercy shines greatest when all hope seems lost. God wants to rebuild Haiti. God wants to show Himself great with those who suffering surely must have reached the corridors of heaven a thousand times over. And God is relying on the goodness of the human spirit and the generosity of those who would stand firm in spite of their own predicaments to stretch out their hand and their hearts to help those who now need it most.

Pray for the Haiti office. Pray for those voiceless children left fatherless. Pray for the security and peace of this small but defiant country we all know as Haiti. And pray for those of us here who are trying to get things done and brought into this country; those of who are putting our very small grain of salt in an incredibly vast sea of pain and suffering in the country of Haiti.

Miss you all...



Liony

From Father Duken in Haiti

Note from Fr. Duken, a priest who works with Food for the Poor in Haiti

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday 01/19/10

Cap-Haitien has not been affected physically. However, we are overflowing. Every single day, we continue to receive thousands of people getting away from Port-au-Prince. We got 2,000 only yesterday. They are students, adults and children. They have lost everything. They are starving, they are shocked, wounded both physically and emotionally. They are concerned. Some of them have families in Cap, some don’t. They just want to escape death.

Our job now is to first accommodate them, make sure they get some food, water, clothes, transportation, and medical care. Second, we must try to walk with them through a healing or rehabilitation process.

We were not ready for something like that but we do what we can.

Fuel is a big deal because everything had to come from Port-au-Prince. Communications as well. We don’t know how long this situation will last but this makes the job even more difficult.

Again thanks for all. We will survive.
Blessings. Duken